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Free Amazons' Oath
The oath of the Free Amazons (aka the Comhi Let'zis/the Sisterhood of Freed Women) is taken by every woman who joins the Guild. The woman administering the oath becomes the oath-mother of the postulant; the witnesses, her oath-sisters. When the oath is administered, the postulant is required to bare her breasts before the witness to show that she is truly a woman and not a man is disguise. A woman who is emmasca may be required to remove all of her clothing to prove she is female. ---- "Men dia pre'zhiuro, From this day forth, I renounce the right to marry save as a freemate. No man shall bind me di catenas and I will dwell in no man's household as a barragana. I swear that I am prepared to defend myself by force if I am attacked by force, and that I shall turn to no man for protection. From this day forth I swear I shall never again be known by the name of any man, be he father, guardian, lover or husband, but simply and solely as the daughter of my mother. From this day forth I swear I will bear no child to any man save for my own pleasure and at my own time and choice; I will bear no child to any man for house or heritage, clan or inheritance, pride or prosperity; I swear that I alone will determine the rearing and fosterage of any child I bear, without regard to any man's place, position or pride. From this day forth I renounce allegiance to any family, clan, household, warden or liege lord, and take oath that I owe allegiance only to the laws of the land as a free citizen must; to the kingdom, the crown and the Gods. I shall appeal to no man as of right, for protection, support or succor: but shall owe allegiance only to my oath-mother, to my sisters in the Guild and to my employer for the season of my employment And I further swear that the members of the Guild of Free Amazons shall be to me, each and every one, as my mother, my sister or my daughter, born of one blood with me, and that no woman sealed by oath to the Guild shall appeal to me in vain." Once the Oath has been administered, the oath-mother says' naming the postulant, "I accept you before the Goddess as oath-daughter; henceforward you shall be as daughter and sister to me and to every one of us the Guild. Here in the presence of these witnesses, I declare that you are from this moment sealed by oath to the Guild of the Free Amazons, subject only to our laws, and I give you the freedom of the Guild: and in token I exchange with you this greeting." The oath-mother then kisses the new Amazon on the mouth and asks her to kneel before administering the final part of the oath: "From this moment, I swear to obey all the laws of the Guild of Free Amazons and any lawful command of my oath-mother, the Guild members or my elected leader for the season of my employment. And if I betray any secret of the Guild, or prove false to my oath, then I shall submit myself to the Guild-mothers for discipline as they shall choose; and if I fail, then may every woman's hand turn against me, let them slay me like an animal and consign my body unburied to corruption and my soul to the mercy of the Goddess."